


I Never Will Marry

by lionstigersandbearsohmy



Series: Summer of Destiel Drabbles [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Creature Fic, M/M, Pirates, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 15:18:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6962242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionstigersandbearsohmy/pseuds/lionstigersandbearsohmy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Bride meets SPN. Need I say more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Never Will Marry

**Author's Note:**

> Based off that old folk song, "I Never Will Marry." I prefer the Joan Baez or Pete Seeger versions, although they have slightly different lyrics. I shall be incorporating from both versions and changing the gender pronouns.
> 
> No MCD, and the suicide attempt is not too in depth. More of a spontaneous split decision than depression, but there's your warning.
> 
> And The Princess Bride was in the background as I wrote this. If you haven't seen it, then why are you still here instead of watching it?

“Alright kids, settle down. Now I know you guys are excited for story time, so I thought I’d make it extra special today.”

“You mean there’s gonna be _dinosaurs_?”

“There were, before I was interrupted. No, let me think . . . OK I’ve got it! I’ll tell you something different than all the stories before.”

“Different how?”

“This time I’ll tell you guys a real story, back from when I was your age. No book this time; this is all from my memory. This happened in my old village, about sixty years ago or so . . .”

_One day as I rambled_

_Down by the seashore_

_The wind it did whistle_

_And the water did roar_

_I spied a fair man_

_Make a pitiful cry_

_It sounded so lonesome_

_In the waters nearby_

Cas was having an awful day. One of his goats had wandered away. Most of the time they wandered back, but this one was one of the youngest ones, barely past the kid stage. It was damn inquisitive, too. Cas wouldn’t place money on the odds of his goat coming back.

What else was he to do? He huffed but still grabbed his trusty staff from beside the door before tromping back out. He had already figured out how the goat got out—a rotting board that he replaced—so now all that was left was to track it down, hopefully. The goat had a few hours of a head start, but he was counting on the goat being distracted by the new buds coming forth in springtime.

As Cas walked through the village, he waved or nodded at passersby. His was a small village. Everyone knew each other. Everyone knew about his loss two months ago.

_My love’s gone and left me_

_He’s the one I adore_

_He’s gone where I never_

_Shall see him at all_

Cas took no small joy in the surprise in some people’s faces that he was out and about. He knew most of the speculation was that he was deeply depressed after the death of Dean Winchester, his old lover sent off to a distant war in the royal navy. Cas wanted to prove them all wrong by acting as if everything was normal. After all, nobody would know Cas cried himself to sleep sometimes as long as nobody was around to see it.

Cas passed by Dean’s old house on the outskirts of the village. Dean’s younger brother Sam and uncle Bobby still lived there, but Cas never stopped by. It still felt too raw. They seemed to have the same attitude, never coming to visit Cas either. Cas knew they were doing alright, though. The royal recompense had gone to Sam and Bobby, not Cas. The crown didn’t recognize same-sex partners, after all.

He didn’t begrudge them much, though. Not like Cas had a lot of needs. He grew most of what he needed, and traded on market days for the rest. He knew that Sam wanted to go off to the capital for schooling, which would require money. He suspected that the recompense was more than enough, that it was guilt keeping Sam from using the blood money to leave this village behind. Cas made a mental note to talk to Sam eventually and convince him to take the money.

A few hours later, Cas had to call it quits on the goat. He’d checked all the trails, but the goat must have wandered further into the forest. Cas was by no means a game hunter, so he kept clear of the woods. There weren’t many natural predators in this area of the country, so Cas hoped that the goat lived a long, free and happy life. If only he could say the same.

_I never will marry_

_I’ll be no man’s wife_

_I expect to live single_

_All the days of my life_

It’d been over a year now that news of Dean’s death had reached Cas. Apparently, that served as a marker for all the village mothers with unmarried children that Cas was free game again. It wasn’t as if Cas had to worry about offending Sam and Bobby, either. Those two had moved to the capital a few months ago after Cas had sat down and talked it out with Sam.

No, there wasn’t anything hold him back. Except the memories, of course. Perhaps a bit melodramatic, but Cas figured he was perfectly fine living on his own.

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a status quo. Everything must change. For Cas, it was being spotted during a market day by Duke Bartholomew. Oh, if only Cas hadn’t wanted some squash that day from old man Brown’s stall.

The good Duke demanded his hand in marriage. Cas refused, as the most charitable thing that could be said about the Duke was that he was a man who knew what he wanted.

The Duke stormed off in a flurry of robes and threats to round up some of his guards. Everyone else in the market square stared, but did nothing to help. Cas turned and ran.

_The shells in the ocean_

_Will be my deathbed_

_The fish in deep waters_

_Swim over my head_

Cas reached the headland by the bay. He headed for his house first to grab his belongings, but apparently someone had told the guards where he lived. He dropped everything and ran.

Well, this wasn’t the best of ideas. He was cornered, with only the sea at his back. When the guards burst out from the tree line and spotted him, he knew it was over.

It wasn’t that bad, was it? Dean had gone down with his ship. Cas thought it poetic to follow him into a watery grave. He turned and leapt.

_He plunged his fair body_

_In the waters so deep_

_He closed his pretty blue eyes_

_In the waters to sleep_

Cas opened his eyes. Why wasn’t he drowning?

He started in fear and started thrashing around in the water when he saw something hovering in front of him.

It . . . was nothing he’d ever seen before. Tentacles framed its face, and its limbs were more like fins. He froze when it started speaking.

“Hello, human. I am the spirit of this area. I’m quite cross that you’ve disturbed my rest.”

“I’m sorry.” Cas spoke before the irrationality of speaking underwater caught up to his brain. But the sound came out anyway. What was going on?

“Yes, well, leave the dramatic suicide attempts alone, if you please. It’s not your time yet. I can’t just put you back where you came from, though. Hmm.”

“Please don’t send me back. They’ll kill me, or worse, make me marry that disgusting Duke.”

The spirit remained silent for a while, thinking. Finally it seemed to come to a conclusion.

“You chose the water, and it shall be your home from now on. I advise you to stay in this area afterwards, though. You’ll need to remain nearby or your fate shall end up much worse than it is now.”

“What? Why do I—” Castiel’s voice cut off as he felt his body undergoing a violent transformation.

After a few terrifying and long minutes, Castiel looked down to see that his legs had fused together, to form a single giant fin. He was now a merman of legend, the creature all the village fishermen talked about while deep in their cups.

Castiel looked over to the spirit, but it was gone. Castiel was on his own, again.

_I never will marry_

_I’ll be no man’s wife_

_I expect to live single_

_All the days of my life_

Cas got along fine. A couple of years spent catching fish and watching the tides, he had yet to be spotted by any of the village fishermen. Of course, he could dive much deeper than their eyes could see. He was careful to only approach the shore under the cover of deep night. He didn’t have to get that close anyway to hear people talking inside their houses. The sound traveled pretty well across the water.

One day, though, a ship sailed into the bay and anchored in the middle. Cas had never seen a ship this large. Its black flag did not bode well. Were these pirates? Cas had heard of other coastal villages being raided, but everyone thought they were too far south to have to worry about pirate attacks.

Cas saw several rowboats full of crew heading for the shore, but there was nothing he could do without revealing himself, especially during the daytime. He did nothing else that day but watch rowboats go back and forth. It seemed at least that the ship wasn’t attacking straightaway.

Once it was dark enough, Cas approached the ship to investigate. What he heard, though, left him feeling shocked, confused and angry.

“By the blade, none of those backwater fools would talk to me! Did you two fare any better?”

That voice. It was Dean’s, but Dean was dead. Who was this imposter?

“Yes. Apparently a few years ago, Duke Bartholomew tried to take Castiel by force as a mate. Castiel ran and jumped off the headland, there.”

That was Bobby. But wasn’t Bobby supposed to be in the capital?

“I’m so sorry, Dean. We should have asked him to come with us.”

Sam’s voice this time. Cas was coming to the inevitable conclusion. He cleared his throat a few times before speaking. His first few attempts were unintelligible, his throat rusty from years of solitude.

“Dean! Dean!” Eventually his throat, mouth and lips finally formed that once common word, that Castiel had not expected to ever say again.

Three heads popped over the side of the ship quickly.

“Holy—is that—” Dean’s voice cut off as he scrambled back for the rowboat.

The three quickly lowered the rowboat and faced Cas.

Dean stared in shock, while Cas lost his nerve and remained silent. Bobby and Sam had questions, but they sensed the tension and held back.

Dean broke the stalemate by jumping into the water and grabbing Cas up into a deep, bone-crushing hug.

“I thought you were dead.”

“I thought _you_ were dead.”

They both laughed, and then kissed.

Sam made a face. “Well, that didn’t take long.”

Eventually Cas got around to telling them about what had happened. When he showed them his lower body, Dean seemed speculative. Sam was firing off questions. Bobby proclaimed it the “darnedest thing he ever saw.”

Finally, Dean spoke up.

“Cas, this doesn’t have to mean we can’t be together. I know the location of a small, out of the way island. We can stay there, just you and me. How about it?”

“But your ship? What about Sam and Bobby?”

“Ah, that’s the good thing about being known as the Dread Pirate Winchester. There’s more than one of us around, after all. This runt is ready to take over, methinks.”

Sam roundly protested both the runt and ready parts, but was shot down. Bobby agreed to stay and help finish out Sam’s training, even as he grumbled about it (Dean whispered to Cas about a feisty woman named Elle back at the capital).

So Cas might never be married. But he wouldn’t be single anymore, not if Dean Winchester had anything to say about it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, this turned out a lot longer than I had envisioned when I first sat down and began writing. I also had a much more tragic ending in mind, to go along with the lyrics. But Cas complained about being treated like that. So this happened.


End file.
